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Humility and Gratitude - Thursday 17 July 2008
They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."
1 Samuel 18:23 NIV
Saul really tried hard to pick a fight with David. But David could not be insulted. I think Saul made a huge mistake here, he thought David would react in the same way that he would. Saul really thought he was ‘Somebody’ so he would have been insulted had someone offered him their daughter in marriage then withdrawn the offer without warning. David still considered himself a ‘nobody’ and even to be offered the hand of a princess was beyond the wildest dreams of a poor shepherd from Bethlehem.
David was always very grateful to God for his good fortune and he had a very realistic viewpoint about this. Saul had lost this along the way and begun to believe his own publicity.
In a very real way everything we have is a gift from God. At times I feel proud that I have a very nice house to live in and a good standard of living, I feel that I have achieved this by my own hard work and say proudly that it was not ‘handed me on a plate’. However I am only too aware that in many other countries in the world I could be working just as hard (or harder) and still living in a shack with barely enough to feed and clothe my children and no hope of the good education that the chance of being born British has given them.
What I have today is a gift that I need to be grateful for. In the wilderness years it was necessary for David to appreciate the needs that God supplied and not to selfishly demand that God supply his wants. In hard times gratitude can be an attribute that slips from our minds. How much easier to moan about what we don’t have than to be thankful for what we have. If there was no entitlement for God’s anointed King of Israel, then we have no right to make demands for riches or health or fame.
Lord, Teach us to be humble, to be realistic about our humanity and weakness. And help us to be grateful for all the good gifts you give us. Amen |
Sheree Burgess, 16/07/2008 |
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| Fri 18 July 2008 - Protection | | David was thirty years old when he became king and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years
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| Wed 16 July 2008 - Support | | .. Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house.
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| Mon 14 July 2008 - David, the Wilderness Years | | Whatever Saul gave David to do, he did it—and did it well. So well that Saul put him in charge of his military operations. Everybody, both the people in general and Saul's servants, approved of and admired David's leadership.
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| Mon 7 July 2008 - Community of All Ages | | Society should be a community of all ages, young and old. Unfortunately though, older people are normally ignored by younger ones, and they in turn find it difficult to understand the language of youth culture today
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